Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale

[unionrdr]

Imo,it's best to add the whole thing. Having said that,you need to read the whole recipe for my Whiskely Ale as an example.
*<Whiskely Ale>*
OG-1.050
FG-1.010
23L=6.072G
ABV= 5.9%
4 oz medium toast French oak chips soaked in 5 jiggers (7.5oz) of Beam's Black 8 year old bourbon in plastic container in fridge till ale reaches FG.
1 can cooper's dark ale
3lbs Munton's plain amber DME
1oz Kent Golding @ 20 mins
.5 oz Haulertauer @ 10mins
.5oz Haulertauer @ flame out for 10mins
cooper's 7g yeast sachet in 1.5C starter
Brewed to 23L @ 69F for 23 days
Pour oak & bourbon through grain sack into secondary vessel,then tie off sack & drop it in. Rack ale onto chips/bourbon. Seal & apply airlock for 8 days. Then prime with 3/4 cup sugar in 2C boiling water & bottle. It has a pungent bourbon aroma at bottling. Still a bit hazy too. Going to try one in a couple hours. 29 days in the bottle. Through the bottle,it looks dark brown with a ruby glow to it.

 

[Stevo2569]

Well I moved it around a little and it stirred all kinds of Sh@t up. Seems the gelatin in the keg did not do as well as I thought either that or I still have a few more pints to pull before it clears.
I then preceded to the side by side taste test. You can definitely tell which one is homebrew and which one is the real deal from the looks. They both have the same flavor and slight aroma. The only real difference in taste is that the homebrew does not have as much vanilla flavor. Weird because I thought I used too much oak( 6 oz) for 3 wks and counting. So I think I'll add a couple of ounces of vanilla extract to the keg and see if it needs more.
I'll keep you posted on if it clears up or not. Cheers

 

[Zamial]

So I think I'll add a couple of ounces of vanilla extract to the keg and see if it needs more.

If you have not used vanilla extract in beer before I can say from experience that a little goes a LONG way and it is forever, or near forever! I added 1oz to a 5 gallon batch of beer, granted it was a lighter style beer and I now have 4 gallons of vanilla bubbly liquid. IMO I would start with 1/4 - 1/2 oz and taste it. It is easy to add more but pretty hard to remove. YMMV. GL.

 

[Stevo2569]

If you have not used vanilla extract in beer before I can say from experience that a little goes a LONG way and it is forever, or near forever! I added 1oz to a 5 gallon batch of beer, granted it was a lighter style beer and I now have 4 gallons of vanilla bubbly liquid. IMO I would start with 1/4 - 1/2 oz and taste it. It is easy to add more but pretty hard to remove. YMMV. GL.

Good idea. Thanks

 

[unionrdr]

The vanilla flavor actually comes from the oaked bourbon flavor breaking down over aging time. It is said that the French oak I used will do this in a couple of months. So while time on the oak is critical,aging time is more critical to what quality of flavor you want from the oaked bourbon. Do you want smooth bourbon flavor on the back? Or do you want vanilla flavor with less bourbon flavor?

 

[Stevo2569]

I like to have both. I think the KBBA is balanced pretty well. I read somewhere that the KBBA is in the Bourben barrel for 3-6 wks. So maybe it's my oak( American white oak).

 

[Stevo2569]

You were right Union.
After 7 weeks on the oak the vanilla finally came through nice. We drank the last growler this past weekend and it was very close to the KBBA. Too bad it's all gone. Everyone loved it and I have had several request for it again, so it looks like I'll be doing a 10G batch next time.

 

[pauljmccain]

Had it while in Louisville last week. Speaking of which, there are some incredible beer bars downtown. But this one was OK, not great.

 

[davenuerge]

Stevo, how much vanilla extract did you end up using? Your recipe called for a TBLSPN but you also thought Zamial's idea of adding less vanilla was a good one. Did you stick with 1 TBLSPN?

 

[unionrdr]

Mine's still aging in the boxed up bottles. 45 days now (almost 6.5 weeks). May have to clean a couple glasses & check out a couple. At 5.9%,should be an interesting test...

 

[Stevo2569]

Stevo, how much vanilla extract did you end up using? Your recipe called for a TBLSPN but you also thought Zamial's idea of adding less vanilla was a good one. Did you stick with 1 TBLSPN?

None. The oak finally came through(vanilla taste)

 

[ohararp]

One other quick question. I have 3 oz of heavy toast american oak sitting in about 1 cup of bourbon. Guy at the homebrew shop suggested only adding the soaked chips and discarding the bourbon that remained, and said to add fresh bourbon. Any thoughts on what to do?

 

[Stevo2569]

One other quick question. I have 3 oz of heavy toast american oak sitting in about 1 cup of bourbon. Guy at the homebrew shop suggested only adding the soaked chips and discarding the bourbon that remained, and said to add fresh bourbon. Any thoughts on what to do?

I've heard the same thing. I added it all. My thinking is, the oak and Bourben trade off flavors and that's flavor being lost to me.

 

[skibb]

That sounds like a load of bs - dump and use fresh bourbon? I would just toss it all in, like I have anytime I've brewed a bourbon/oak infused beer (which is twice). Both beers turned out fantastic.

 

[Stevo2569]

That sounds like a load of bs - dump and use fresh bourbon? I would just toss it all in, like I have anytime I've brewed a bourbon/oak infused beer (which is twice). Both beers turned out fantastic.

Edit just saw the question mark.

 

[unionrdr]

That's right. The oak & bourbon do indeed trade some flavors. So you should add the whole thing. Just don't waste bourbon soaking 2-4oz of oak in a whole quart of bourbon. You don't need anywhere near that much. I soaked 4oz of oak in 5 jiggers (7.5oz) of Beam's Black for the whole ferment time in the fridge. The oak chips soaked up 2/3 of the bourbon. Dumped it all in. the oak & smooth bourbon flavor are good. But need to round out more as of day 22 in the bottles. 2 in the fridge @ day 29,a couple days ago. We'll see if the 7 week bit holds up . Maybe tonight.

 

[Chia]

u can get a barrel for $130 from what i hear. LHBS is getting one and we are all cookin up the same beer to age in it. will let you know how it goes.

 

[unionrdr]

Well,I must say,after half of one glass of this stuff,I'm already a bit tipsy! 5.9% is nothing to sneeze at! It's dark,& just a little clear,although I may've gotten some yeast in it from the bottom of the bottle.
After being in the fridge since Monday,It has a dark bourbon nose to it. Smooth spicy oak flavor on the lighter bourbon flavor now. I think the Kent Golding & Haulertauer added some spice to the oak flavor. More like Black Oak instead of medium toast French oak. Interesting difference. Not at all offensive,however.
If Germans made this stuff,this is what it might taste like,imo.
I guess it's my German heritage coming through?...

 

[Stevo2569]

Well,I must say,after half of one glass of this stuff,I'm already a bit tipsy! 5.9% is nothing to sneeze at! It's dark,& just a little clear,although I may've gotten some yeast in it from the bottom of the bottle.
After being in the fridge since Monday,It has a dark bourbon nose to it. Smooth spicy oak flavor on the lighter bourbon flavor now. I think the Kent Golding & Haulertauer added some spice to the oak flavor. More like Black Oak instead of medium toast French oak. Interesting difference. Not at all offensive,however.
If Germans made this stuff,this is what it might taste like,imo.
I guess it's my German heritage coming through?...

5.9%. You sound like my neighbor. You must not drink much. How's the vanilla flavor coming along? How many weeks on the oak?

 

[unionrdr]

5.9%. You sound like my neighbor. You must not drink much. How's the vanilla flavor coming along? How many weeks on the oak?

I haven't drank in a few days,the wife has been sick,& just didn't feel like it. We've been drinking Stroh's lately,so this stuff would be a big difference. It spent 8 days on the bourbon soaked oak. It was pretty strong. But now,it's mellowing out,& the hop flavors are giving the oak a spicy quality. But the vanilla is starting to come through.48 days in the bottles as of now. The oak was soaking in the bourbon while the dark ale was fermenting,a couple of weeks.

 

[mrrrkva]

I am in the middle of making something VERY similiar. One thing I am afraid of, it has been sitting in secondary for 5 months. Will yeast be dead? I am afraid thing wont CARB up, when I add some cane sugar and bottle. What do you think, any suggestions??

 

[Hamada]

Pitch another packet of yeast when it goes into the bottling bucket. That will make sure it carbs.

 

[shanlmt]

So for Hibbleton's recipe, he has 8.5oz of bourbon and 3 oz of oak chips. My question is, when adding this to the secondary do you strain the bourbon off and just add the soaked chips to the beer? or do you add the oak chips and the bourbon?

 

[hibbleton]

I just drank my last bottle of this year-old beer, and there is no bourbon flavor at all. There was some before but it was never very strong. If I made it again I would use charred oak cubes instead of chips, boil them a short while to remove astringency (which was prevalent the first few months in mine), just barely cover the cubes in bourbon for at least a couple weeks, dump all the oak and bourbon into a secondary fermenter, then rack the beer off the yeast and into the secondary and let it sit there a couple of weeks until it tastes good. Remember these are just ideas, I haven't made a second batch of this yet.

 

[unionrdr]

I used 4oz of oak chips,& 5 jiggers (about 7.5oz) of Beam's Black in a sealed container in the fridge while fermenting the dark ale I made to use it in. Poured the chips/bourbon mixture through a hop sack,tied it off,& dropped it in. Racked the dark ale on top of it. I let it sit for 8 days,& it was strong already. I bottled it on 7/2/11,& it took 9 weeks,& 6 days to condition. Then 2 weeks in the fridge for good head & carbonation.
Not to mention,getting the malt & hops to shine through again.

 

[tryn2brew]

I made Northern Brewers Black IPA and aged with oak and bourbon. Very Dark, and strong oak and bourbon taste. It is mellowing a bit after a month in the bottle, and is very drinkable....

 

[Roadliner]

has anyone tried this?

http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/recipe/3b0cb7eb/

 

[Sleepyemt]

Here's another thread with an email from the brewery...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/my-kentucky-bourbon-barrel-ale-attempt-281790/

 

[Roadliner]

Here's another thread with an email from the brewery...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/my-kentucky-bourbon-barrel-ale-attempt-281790/

Thanks.. I really want to make this brew for my brother as it's his favorite beer.